"Hopefully I've made some sort of history on the show just by doing something a little bit different - I'm not professing to be the greatest thing to come out of The X Factor or anything like that, but I've definitely stuck to my guns and I think that's helped me."

Arthur added that he has "no qualms" about being associated with the show or worries about the "ridiculous" stigma attached to its graduates.

"There isn't a platform out there better than The X Factor," he claimed. "It's all politics [in music]. You've got to know someone who knows someone who knows someone to get the type of coverage you'll get on The X Factor... I had to do it purely because, who doesn't want to be successful?

"The stigma attached to it is kind of ridiculous. I know for a fact that everyone in the industry watches it... I have no qualms with being associated with The X Factor; it's done nothing but nurture me and develop me and it's changed my life, so I've got nothing but good things to say about it.

"Leona Lewis, One Direction - some of the biggest-selling artists in the world have come from The X Factor, and if I can emulate that even a little bit, I'll be more than happy."